NATO is renewing its fleet of radar reconnaissance aircraft stationed in Germany. According to information on Wednesday, the Federal Republic and other allies gave the green light for the purchase of six Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft. The first of them should be ready for use by 2031 at the latest.
“Reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft are critical to NATO’s collective defense, and I welcome the Allies’ commitment to investing in high-end capabilities,” commented NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This investment in state-of-the-art technology shows the strength of transatlantic defense cooperation.
When asked, NATO did not want to comment on the exact costs of replacing the aircraft fleet. However, figures from the British government provide a clue, as they recently estimated the cost of the planned purchase of three aircraft for its own air force at 1.89 billion pounds (2.17 billion euros).
Main base Geilenkirchen
So far, Boeing 707 aircraft, which are more than three decades old and are the basis for NATO’s flying radar system, also known as Awacs (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), are in use. They are currently used primarily to monitor the airspace in Eastern Europe. The fleet’s main base is the NATO airfield Geilenkirchen near Aachen. It currently consists of 14 aircraft and has so far been involved in all major NATO missions, for example in the fight against terrorism and in the Kosovo war.
With their mushroom-shaped radar structure, the Awacs are able to locate and identify other aircraft more than 400 kilometers away. The pilots can pass on the information to everyone else in the airspace who is technically equipped accordingly. This means they can also be used as flying combat control centers.
The new Boeing model was originally developed for the Australian Air Force and is already being used by Turkey. It is based on a militarized version of the 737 passenger jet.
